In January, Egyptian newspapers reported that the commander of Iran’s Quds Force, Qassem Suleimani, had traveled to Cairo that month to meet with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi’s aides about setting up a spy service that would answer to Iran and circumvent the Egyptian military. Were the Egyptian people really going to sit back and allow Iran to take over their country?Imagine a conflict in which American, Egyptian and Israeli intelligence are all on the same side as the Egyptian people, drai

Viewpoints July 12, 2013

A committee deliberating on reform of the National Pension Scheme has proposed a substantial increase in contributions to make the state-run program more sustainable.The committee stopped short of suggesting a specific figure due to differences among its members. But a majority of them reportedly favored a plan to gradually raise the contribution rate from the current 9 percent to 13-14 percent.The government has refrained from commenting on the committee’s proposal, given the public outcry it h

Editorial July 11, 2013

Public hospitals are mostly in chronic deficit. Each year, they look to the government for subsidies to cover part of their losses. Despite their poor financial state, these hospitals, however, have provided very generous benefits to their employees.According to news reports, the 11 general hospitals affiliated with national universities and the 34 local hospitals operated by provincial governments have been offering big discounts on the medical bills of their employees and their family members.

Editorial July 11, 2013

Edward Snowden has wrought more damage on the United States than any private individual in recent memory.It’s not just the theft and publication of classified material. That was bad enough because those disclosures make the U.S. look hypocritical and deceitful. The revelations are infuriating America’s allies and rivals alike. But the 30-year-old’s fervid attempts to find asylum are also setting off escalating rounds of anger and recrimination ― all of that aimed at Washington, too.Just one exam

Viewpoints July 11, 2013

One of the most fruitful diplomatic and socio-economic relationships over the past decade must surely be that between China and countries in Southeast Asia, though not without the occasional hiccup.The ASEAN member states have enjoyed double-digit growth in their trade with the world’s most populous nation in recent years and it reached a record high of $400.9 billion last year.Now the third biggest trading partner with China, ASEAN is expected to become the No. 1 trading partner in the next two

Viewpoints July 11, 2013

The U.S. is about to reimpose tariffs on Bangladesh in response to the country’s failure to improve safety in its factories. The European Union has threatened to follow the U.S.’s lead ― a move that would hit Bangladesh much harder. This punitive strategy is understandable, but there’s a better way to advance a worthy cause. More than 1,000 people died when a garment factory near Dhaka collapsed in April; a few months before, a factory fire killed more than 100. Safety standards in Bangladeshi f

Viewpoints July 10, 2013

In the fall of 2010, as deputy head of China investment banking at UBS AG, I spoke to a group of wealthy investors in Beijing about the outlook for Chinese stocks. A rumpled, 50-something man from Hangzhou named Wang Zhigang pulled me aside afterward and asked for my advice about investing. Until then, he had made his money through curbside lending, not stocks. But, he lamented, his returns had dropped from more than 30 percent a year to a mere 23 percent. He worried about his personal fortune,

Viewpoints July 10, 2013

Despite the hoopla over dysfunction in Washington, the government can still do useful things. To prove it, the Food and Drug Administration should move aggressively to implement and then strengthen its proposed cancer warnings about tanning beds. A stunning 20 million to 30 million Americans each year use tanning beds. Use is particularly concentrated among young white women. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that about 30 percent of white women between the ages of 18 and

Viewpoints July 10, 2013

State-owned enterprises and other public organizations take up a large portion of the Korean economy. The combined budget of these 295 entities is 575 trillion won this year, far larger than the central government’s budget of about 350 trillion won.These institutions exist to provide a wide array of indispensible public services, but they do not enjoy a high reputation among the public due to their rapidly growing debt and lax management practices. Last year, their cumulative debt reached 493.4

Editorial July 9, 2013

The crash of Asiana Airlines’ Boeing 777 jet at San Francisco International Airport is a wake-up call for the Korean aviation industry, which enjoys a good global reputation for safety.In the mid-1990s, Korea’s two flag carriers ― Asiana and its bigger rival Korean Air ― suffered a string of fatal incidents, which led to a downgrading of the nation’s aviation safety rating in 1999.The humiliation prompted the Seoul government to undertake a comprehensive reform of its aviation regulatory system.

Editorial July 9, 2013

What is the point of immigration reform? It is not about securing the political future of one political party or the other. Nor is the point to supply business with an abundance of cheap labor. And contrary to much of what we’ve heard in recent weeks, the primary goal is not to create a border so secure it would make Kim Jong-un proud. Immigration reform is primarily about respect ― for the dignity of human beings and for the rule of law. Reform should legalize work, reduce incentives for illega

Viewpoints July 8, 2013